Did go climbing at the local spot yesterday. Elbow felt really good. Repeated a bunch of .7-.10's and fell twice on a hard as nails .10c that I've never been on. It's a mixed route with a single bolt half way up but I think it will go on gear if I buy/borrow a second gray TCU.

Did go climbing at the local spot yesterday. Elbow felt really good. Repeated a bunch of .7-.10's and fell twice on a hard as nails .10c that I've never been on. It's a mixed route with a single bolt half way up but I think it will go on gear if I buy/borrow a second gray TCU.

Bolt's not near ground-fall is it? That'd be a shitty way to find out why the bolt's there.

Good that you're back at it. Pay attention to that elbow, though. I'm telling you, you don't want it to flare up.

was invited to a sort of talent show at the flamenco school that i've been drawing at the past month. it was a mix of artists, singers, dancers, etc. I had to present (without knowing in advance) in portuguese my work and my project.

got some good comments, which was nice. no sales, but people weren't there to buy. i think my johnny ramone will sell at some point, just don't know when. lots of good comments on a work-in-progress flamenco painting i brought, too. happy about that.

also made connection with a scottish flamenco guitarist in seville for when i go there over x-mas. apparently he plays and teaches at about a half dozen schools. good first step in networking?

e-mailed a pretty famous foundation over there, too, for contacts. we'll see how that goes.

shit's fucking hard. not an easy life i'm leading (believe it or not) at the moment. just gonna keep my head down and not give up. fucking work hard. see where it goes.

Hi guys! I still exist . . . the quarter is over, so time to start thinking about climbing. Or skiing. Or something!

Just do something.

Well, I went yesterday and tried out a Crossfit class . . . haha, not what anyone here would probably have in mind as a good "something", but a fun experience: a ten-minute workout that left me feeling weak hours later. That really says more about my general fitness right now than the workout, though.

Did go climbing at the local spot yesterday. Elbow felt really good. Repeated a bunch of .7-.10's and fell twice on a hard as nails .10c that I've never been on. It's a mixed route with a single bolt half way up but I think it will go on gear if I buy/borrow a second gray TCU.

stayed up late to watch the laugher that was the NE-NYJ game last night. my god, I've never seen so much fodder for the tabloids. I'm glad I hate NYC. If you watched it, it was unbelievable.

Happy Late Thanksgiving to you as well! I have been doing a lot of football watching and walking around lately. On Thursday, I watched Houston beat Detroit, which was actually a pretty good game but nonetheless reminded me of how much I hate the NFL. And then in the late afternoon I went for a walk and checked out a nearby apple tree, which the neighbors are epically failing to harvest, but I decided it would be too conspicuous to walk up with a plastic bag and shake the tree for the few remaining apples up top that are still edible. Yesterday i kind of forget what I did, so it must have been pretty forgettable--but I wasn't drunk. And today I walked 3.5 mi. round trip to the post office and watched ND beat USC. Yay!

I had no turkey, of course, but instead made myself a vegan lentil nut loaf. THAT is what I did yesterday, now I remember. For Thanksgiving Day, I made a vegan chocolate cake using diet Pepsi, which I suspect is not very good for me at all. But it's chocolate.

one day skizering at Tahoe. Resort TBD. Then to drive to Ewetawh where I will ski at Alta for two daze and then some climberinzing the ice in Little Cottonwood Canyon. After we will head oft to Ouray for the ice and hot tubbery Our final swing will be to the S rim of the Grand canyon before heading home.

Action-Packed! Pics and stories will be shared!

So is mine. Not guaranteed yet, but almost guaranteed.

Climbing in Andalucia, Spain (El Chorro, among others, is there). Partner hasn't bough the tix yet, but he says he's coming either way.

Sawsome. My plans include sitting around the outlaws watching the kids go crazy with too much useless junk to clutter up the house. Oh yea. U wish you were me 2.

jealous!

We r getting ahead of our selves though. Got to survive the Turkey weekend first. The wife didn't want to go. Then she found out her cousin's GF is going to be there. Now we have to go cause being w/ family is important??? Well the MIL found out we're going so now she's guilting the wife's older sister. Oh yea, everyone will be all happy and smiles...

i love the holidaze!!!

Thanksgiving Eve X2 (today): visited a newfound crag in Pinkham Notch with schist similar to Rumney, views of Mt Washington, tons of crags 35' - 90' tall, and lots more potential. 30 routes so far; we put up 5 FAs today, all trad.

Thanksgiving: visiting my parents for dinner with my bro/his family and my sis. I am brining the turkey now; we are responsible for the bird, stuffing, and closely monitoring the patriots/jets game.

Christmas: two weeks in Colorado, visiting Meaghan, my wife's awesome cousin, and other friends. We will be scoping out the front range for future settlement, skiing, climbing, etc.

New Years: this has always been a non-holiday for me, but we will still be in CO so may find something to do. Also my 2 1/2 year sobriety date...

Valentines Day: no plans yet. Heh.

May Day: target date to leave the rental house, jump in the truck & RV, and hit the road. First stop: Maxwell's college graduation from ZooMass, then four months of road tripping.

Gneiss! Schist!!!!

Is this crag going to have Rumney ethics or will it adhere to the MWV tradiban GU, no bolts ethic? You're on the right side of the hill for that. I wish I was over there still, perhaps, if only to climb with you guys. Edge, you and I were 1.5 hours away and never seemed to meet!

The crew I've been rolling with have gained a local reputation for finding and developing new areas with a full range of grades, commitment levels, and trail work. Routes are often cleaned and FA'd ground up, but equally as often they require top down scrubbing and bolting on rappel. True sport routes are rare, generally bolts are only added to augment natural gear; and there are just as many spicy all trad lines. This new area is a hybrid compromise logical extention of the N Conway and Rumney ethics, the best of both.

In the New Durham Area alone, MP lists 231 routes, of which probably 80% were established by the self-named "Chinos." There are now over 100 additional routes scattered throughout the Whites; all of this in the last 2-3 years. I am accepted as the bastard grandfather of the Chinos...

I forgot when you left New England, Epoch, but if it was over 28 months ago I was not climbing and on the fast track to total self destruction, so no wonder we didn't hook up. For the last 2+ years I have been getting out climbing at least twice a week, skiing, skydiving, holding ceremonial groups and workshops, and gradually replacing the rigid stem circa 1982 Friends from my rack...

was invited to a sort of talent show at the flamenco school that i've been drawing at the past month. it was a mix of artists, singers, dancers, etc. I had to present (without knowing in advance) in portuguese my work and my project.

got some good comments, which was nice. no sales, but people weren't there to buy. i think my johnny ramone will sell at some point, just don't know when. lots of good comments on a work-in-progress flamenco painting i brought, too. happy about that.

also made connection with a scottish flamenco guitarist in seville for when i go there over x-mas. apparently he plays and teaches at about a half dozen schools. good first step in networking?

e-mailed a pretty famous foundation over there, too, for contacts. we'll see how that goes.

shit's fucking hard. not an easy life i'm leading (believe it or not) at the moment. just gonna keep my head down and not give up. fucking work hard. see where it goes.

Did go climbing at the local spot yesterday. Elbow felt really good. Repeated a bunch of .7-.10's and fell twice on a hard as nails .10c that I've never been on. It's a mixed route with a single bolt half way up but I think it will go on gear if I buy/borrow a second gray TCU.